Slave to Games
by InvaderRee
Summary: I hate him. I hate him so much, for kidnapping me, and dragging me around all over the universe to look for my stupid brother... But why, whenever I dream, I only dream of him? Why do I care? ZAGR
1. Disappear

First story on here, yays... It's ZAGR, and right now I have like 4 more chapters written, and most of it's already planned x3 Um, well, here you go! Enjoy~ (and review :) )

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"Gaz. Where is your brother?"

I looked over at my dad. Oh, he finally noticed Dib was gone? I didn't bother to look up from my GameSlave.

"How should I know?"

"Don't give me that attitude, young lady." But he was already putting his coffee mug in the overflowing sink, and getting ready to leave. I didn't even bother arguing, because he was already out the door. Another, normal, Dad-less week. I left my bowl of cereal on the table and turned on my GameSlave, putting the rest of the world on mute as I focused on killing piggies, hardly paying attention to the sidewalk as I walked the much-traveled path to skool. This was the pattern of my day. Nobody broke that pattern, nobody bothered. Except Zim. Of course, by now I had learned to ignore the psychotic alien, but this time it was different.

It was lunchtime. I sat at my usual table. He marched over and sat across the table from me. He was saying something, ranting as usual. He paused, then reached over and pressed pause on my game. I looked up.

"_What?_"

"I asked you, Gaz-sister, where is the Dib and his horrible smelly head?"

"Don't know, don't care." I switched my game back on. He turned it off this time. I glared up at him.

"You. Lost. My. Game."

"Bigger things are at stake here! _So_ much bigger, than that idiotic thumb-game you've beat a thousand times! Tell me, where is the Dib-worm?"

"He left a few days ago." I switched the GameSlave on. He grabbed it and flicked it off. I tried to snatch it from him, but he put it in his PAK.

"Tell me where he went!"

"I don't know."

He got up and started pacing and thinking out loud, not caring, or even noticing, that he was in the skool cafeteria.

"The Dib disappeared four days ago, and I know he took Tak's ship. And I know that ship still has all the files a normal Irken ship has. But why? _Why?_ Hmm..."

I glared at him. He kept pacing, then turned around dramatically, shaking a fist in the air.

"Because, because, he wants to... to... do... Something! Something oh so _deeevious,_ your little human brain cannot begin to _comprehend it_! But I know, ohhh, _how_ I know! I know EXACTLY what he wants to do!"

"No you don't. Now shut up and _give back my game_."

He didn't even look up. He just walked away, still talking to himself. I clenched my hands and felt my nails bite into my palms.

"_He will pay_," I hissed, and the rest of the kids in the cafeteria edged away from me just a bit more.

I got up and followed Zim out of the cafeteria and into the hall. He was almost to the doors at the other end of the school. Angrily, I ran after him, my footsteps silent on the dirty floor. I stood in front of him suddenly, giving my darkest glare. He jumped.

"Gaz-human! What-! Of _course..._" His face broke into a creepy grin. "_Of courssse_... Yes. Yess, that would work!" He grabbed my wrist. "Come with me, Gaz-human. You could prove... most _useful_ in getting your brother back. We're going to my base!"

He said more, but I couldn't focus on the words. I could only feel his cold grip on my wrist, only hear the fear rushing through me. Cold fear, fury, boiling inside me at his hand on mine.

"... GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

I slapped him, hard. He flew against the lockers and lay there, sprawled on the floor. A groan escaped his lips. He blinked, then laughed weakly.

"I like your strength, Gaz-human. But there's no time for that; we need to get to my base so I can get your brother back."

"No." I couldn't feel anything but anger, this irrational fear. Raw, terrible anger.

"If you think... If you think I'm going to go to your house, so you can do whatever you want... I won't. Don't get your stupid hopes up. Just stay the hell away, Zim."

I walked quickly down the hall, into the cold outside. I just couldn't take it anymore.

The wind started to blow, smelling like rain. I shivered.

_As long as he stays away._


	2. Spider

I didn't go to school the next day, or the rest of that week. I stayed home, playing Vampire Piggy Hunter on my Game Slave 2. The game was totally old by now, but I didn't care. I just needed something to do.

By the time the weekend came around, I had eaten my way through all the food in the house (even the exploding beans) and I had to force myself to go to the store. But when I set foot outside the door, I stepped on a small pink package. Curiously I picked it up and brought it inside, closing the door against a gust of wind.

Squinting my tired eyes, I looked the slightly crushed, pink box. The clumsily taped wrapping paper was covered in flowers and hearts and cute little piggies. I tore it off, because I already knew what was inside. The Game Slave 4. Taking it out of the box, I looked it over. It looked the same as I had left it, except all the little scratches, even the tiny dent from when I had thrown it at Dib's head were gone. My game cartridge wasn't in its slot, because something else was. I took it out. It was marked with a single bright pink bug-eyed symbol. I knew it well enough from Dib's "investigations" that it was the Irken symbol. Stupid Zim.

I took the game out, threw it to the end of the couch, and stuck in the other game cartridge. The one I had been playing, that day. It was exactly where I had left it, even though I hadn't reached a save point. Nothing was lost. I breathed a sigh of relief, before the next round of robot piggy minions appeared.

My fingers quickly lost their way through the familiar path to the Piggy Lord's fortress, and GAME OVER flashed on the screen.

I did lose one thing that day. I couldn't name it, exactly. But when Zim grabbed my arm; even before that, when he managed to break my little bubble of concentration, something changed. Somewhere, gears are turning, knocked off balance. Somewhere, inside me, something changed.

I stared at the innocent-looking, but somehow menacing, game cartridge on the far end of the couch. A cold rain began to fall.

I reached for the phone and dialed Bloaty's Pizza Hog. Poor delivery guy, in this rain. Whatever.

Hours later, it was getting late, or early. It was hard to tell, and I didn't really care. I had given up on Final Piggy XXVII, at least for a while. I decided to go get some other game from my room. Coming back into the living room, I noticed Zim's game on the couch. I turned away, and tried to start my new game, but I couldn't concentrate. Finally, I just grabbed the game and stuck it in.

The screen turned black, then pink. The magenta glow cast funny shadows in the room. I hadn't noticed how dark it was.

**If you are reading this, Gaz, it isn't too late. I haven't left yet to search for your filthy brother. I am sorry about Skool, but it was really important. So is this. I hope you understand, I need you more than you know. Which is why I installed this program into your game device, which will now attach itself to your arm, and if you do not come to my house by Tuesday morning, will drag you there. I hope you understand :)**  
**-Zim**

I immediately dropped the GS4. The screen slammed shut just as I did, and would have caught my fingers. It landed easily on 6 metal spider legs, like I knew Zim had in that pod-thing on his back. It clawed its way up my leg. I kicked it across the room, and ran.

It was dark, but I knew my way around the house blind, from years spent watching my game instead of my feet. I made it up the stairs and down the short hall to my room. I could hear the spider-legs clicking behind me all the way. I slammed the door, and on second thought, locked it.

Steady thumps shook the door and walls, then the noise stopped. I relaxed. I thought I had fooled it. But the next moment, I was proved wrong. There was a smell of burning, and a pink laser cut a perfect hole in the door.

The pod skittered across my bedroom floor. I ran to the window, glancing outside. It was cold and wet, not to mention it was a long fall, but maybe...

Too late. As I fumbled with the window lock, the pod jumped across my room, latching itself onto my arm. I screamed as cables lashed out, metal claws digging into my arm. After a few horrible seconds, the pain stopped. The little green light on the GameSlave flashed once and Zim's disk fell out of the slot, turning into dust on the floor. I sat there, dazed, staring blankly at the wall.

_Tuesday morning,_ I thought numbly. _It's already Monday night, isn't it? Or is it already the morning?_

Soft light through thinning gray clouds made my answer. My arm lifted up suddenly on its own. The pod yanked at my still-throbbing arm and pulled me out the window. I screamed, but spider-legs caught my fall. I didn't get a chance to catch my breath before I was forced to run through the cold gray morning to keep my arm from getting torn off. The pod slammed against Zim's door, and I crumpled to the ground. The door opened slowly, as pain and exhaustion took me into the darkness of sleep…

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Thanks for the reviews :) This chapter was really 2 chapters, but it seemed really short (probably because Gaz was the only character here, so no conversations) so I stuck the 2 together... and it's still short x3 Also, I don't know a lot about video games, so I hope I more-or-less got it right o.o" Anyways, hope you like, and review please! ^^


	3. Paper Plane

Sorry... This really took too long x3 I like completely rewrote this entire chapter, because the old one was so... bleh. Again, thanks for the reviews! :) And this chapter has some Gir in it... yay x3 Oh, and school starts in like 2 weeks... I'll try to get the next chapter out by then (really, I'm starting it right now ^^") but no promises... ._." Oh well, enjoy!

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"Hiiii, piggy!"

Slowly things came into focus. Gir, who had decided to act like a dog, licked my face.

"Gross. Stop it." I tried to push him away with my good arm, and the little robot dog took my hand and started dragging me into the house. I couldn't do anything but let myself be dragged. When he dropped me, I glared up at him. He squeezed a rubber piggy, and ran off somewhere. I sat up carefully, getting a good look at my arm for the first time. It was red and swollen. I picked at the dry blood on my wrist.

_Zim… I'll punish you for this…_

Squeaky feet came closer. Gir pulled me into the living room. He turned on the TV and ran into the kitchen, yelling "MONKEYS!" I watched some cartoon for a few minutes, before crashing sounds and loud footsteps made their way towards the living room.

"GIR! Let Minimoose go!"

Gir ran out of the kitchen, holding a small purple moose. He put it in my hand, and the moose nuzzled against me.

"Meep!" it said. Zim ran into the room.

"Human? Where? Why are you in my house! Leave, or I'll-" He saw me on the floor. "Oh. The Gaz-human. Minimoose, come here!" Minimoose floated over to him. Zim grinned triumphantly down at me.

"Well, well, so you decided to come. I'm glad you saw the light. And it's _BRILLIANT!_"

"It's stupid," I mumbled.

"No it's not. This is my best plan yet." He looked confused. "Oh well, no matter. Gir, take the human to the Voot hangar! I will check some things in the lab, and then we'll LEAVE!"

"H-hey!" Gir picked me up and put me on the couch. Then he jumped off and smiled at me.

"Meow," He said. The couch flew up (Nope. I totally didn't scream.) and suddenly I was in a room with sloping sides, like an attic. In the middle of the room was Zim's spaceship, which had a thin layer of dust on it. I sat there on the couch in that attic-like room.

_We're really going to search for my brother? Or is this some sort of weird joyride?_

"_We?" There's no "we" in this! Zim kidnapped you! Kidnapped you!_

That was like Dib's voice. Dib, who could never leave things alone. Dib, who was always reading weird old books, investigating crazy rumors, collecting funny-shaped rocks and stuff.

_Leave me alone. Just, leave me alone._

I sat there on the couch silently, glaring at the hands resting in my lap, at the pod that used to be my GameSlave, my only escape. I didn't even look up as a _whoosh_ came from across the room. Because those footsteps could only be one person's.

"Are you _sleeping_, human-girl? Hurry up! The Dib isn't getting any closer to- Uh… Something."

He grabbed my arm, pulled me towards the spaceship. I gritted my teeth but said nothing. I climbed over the seat, pulling myself as far away from him as I could. Gir scrambled over us both, slipping into the small space in the back.

"Piggies?" He asked.

"Yes, Gir, piggies," Zim muttered. Finally, with a shudder, the engines started. The roof slid open above us, and we flew into the sky.

I've never liked flying. I really haven't. When I was little, Dad took us in some experimental aircraft or something. I closed my eyes the whole trip.

_I'm not letting myself freak out. I'm not going to let him see my fear. I won't I won't I won't…_

But I couldn't stop shaking. The feeling of climbing, of this incredible speed, was too much. I felt my nails digging into my palms, but I couldn't let myself let go. There was nothing to hold on to, in the thin air…

With a jolt, everything stopped moving. I let out the breath I had been holding.

_Breathe, breathe…_

A hand nudged my shoulder. My head snapped up and I glared at Zim. I'm sure I had tears in my eyes.

"_What?"_

"Quit your shaking, worm-baby. Look." He had a smirk on his face, like this was all a joke.

I turned away, though that meant looking out the window. I gulped.

Outside was foggy blackness, stars twinkling softly. Almost behind us already was a blue and green planet, with fuzzy white clouds. We were passing the moon, cold and gray with hundreds of craters.

_How fast are we going, anyways?_ I pulled my arms around my knees. _And _where_ are we going in the first place?_

"Oh, but don't worry," He said softly. "We'll be back, oh we'll be back! Perhaps with your brother and his gargantuan head. We'll come back, and destroy it all! Enjoy it while it lasts, Gaz."

I closed my eyes.

"Zim… Shut up, or you'll meet your slow, painful doom…"

"_Hmm?_" That was Gir. Zim groaned.

"Does that mean we can sing the doom song? YAY! Doom-doom-doom, doom doom... doomy doom!..."


	4. In the Fishbowl

_Author's Note: Welcome back to the zombified ZAGR story! Because, if you didn't know, I just brought this back from the dead! Thanks, all you random commenting/favoriting people, for motivating me and stuff :) I promise I'll try to finish this, even if I've kind of already moved on from the whole Invader Zim thing. So without further ado, I present Slave to Games, chapter 4!_

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Hours passed in silence. I just wouldn't talk to him. Why should I? He had what he wanted—me, by his side in this _stupid_ pointless quest—because he took it by force, without even asking. If he didn't care what I thought, why should I bother with pointless small talk? Not that I would even bother striking up a conversation. Not like I should _care._

* * *

Hours later, I kinda had to care. Because I really, _really_ needed to pee. I asked, he told me where the bathroom was, I went, came back, and sat curled up in the seat as far away from him as possible. That was the extent of our conversation.

I glared out at the stars for a while. Far off in the distance was the blue glimmer of Neptune, so faint in the darkness. This was so _boring._ Even a road trip through some boring place with endless rolling grassland had more sights to see, more distractions in the passing view. Not that we had ever gone on many family road trips. Maybe once, twice, to some science convention somewhere.

_Dad… Do you even know I'm gone yet? Would you even notice how empty the house is? Do you even care where we've gone?_

"Awwwh," GIR's tinny voice interrupted my thoughts as he rubbed his cold, hard tin-can head against my shoulder like a cat. "'Choo so happy you're crying!"

"Shut up." I pushed him away with my knee and leaned my head against the window. In the reflection from the glare of the lights inside the ship, I could dimly see Zim's wide red eyes gazing in my direction. I breathed a shaky sigh and looked away.

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I'm just _so _good at playing the ignore-the-world game. Maybe a week passed with no excitement, and barely even a word from me. Yes, I was bored out of my mind, but I didn't need to let him see that.

Zim has never been the most patient person. Once a day or so, he would work himself up into a rant, going on and on about "Dib this" and "Dib that" and glory and the victory so _easily_ within his reach. I only listened because there was nothing else to listen to, besides GIR's endless singing. But most of the time, I just zoned out, dozed off, half-enjoying the dark mazes my dreams laid out for me.

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It was a path I'd traced many times. It was a hallway in a castle, dark, cathedral-like windows letting in the little light that filtered through storm-tossed clouds. I could hear voices in the distance, but I knew all they had to say was nonsense that I would forget as soon as I woke up anyway.

But now the stone changed to tile, the windows growing narrower and disappearing, dim and flickering fluorescent bulbs the only light now. The musty scent changed into something more chemical, the voices becoming harsher and even more unintelligible.

The part of me that I couldn't really reach, not this far in the dream, shuddered.

This was where the real nightmares always begin.

Dib's never here. This isn't his world. Neither is Zim. Neither are any of the other characters from my waking life. This is Dad's domain, always has been.

The walls are white, the doors are marked with letters or numbers that jumble together. I pause where one hallway runs into another.

And now I hear the footsteps. And now I have to run.

It's always a gentle hand, gripping my shoulder whenever the lab worker catches up to me. They say _something_, maybe commanding, maybe reassuring, but all it causes is fear. And even if I don't struggle, that grip turns to steel.

I'm led down some hallways, led into a room, and now it's _always_ the same room.

I sit in a chair, an automatic movement, living out the pattern of days and days, years ago, days that I don't care to remember, I don't even try, but suddenly it's all so _easy._

Lights come on, blinding me, and I can't move because I'm tied down somehow.

Metal flashes, knives or hooks or needles or something, cold and pressing against my skin.

My wrist.

I can suddenly see metal against my wrist, where it wasn't there before now

Metal legs, metal claws

And then I realize

Remember this is real-fake-dreaming-memories like watercolors melting together, mixing and changing, dissolving and reforming

* * *

When I wake up from a nightmare, I don't scream. I just let out a small whimper. Usually I'd hold my blanket or my pillow, breathe a few moments, hardly daring to look too far into the darkness of my room.

But right now it's bright, and I'm in a bubble of light, with the darkness of deep space like a curtain behind me. I force my breathing to go back to normal and uncurl my body, shifting into a different position on the seat.

Zim's watching me. I glare at him, and for a moment it looks like he's going to say something, but he half shrugs and turns away, fiddling with something on the computer.

"Well, Gaz-human. Look's like we're going to have to stop for supplies, and… information. Since, of course, you have _no idea_ where your brother is." One eye is wide and the other squinted in suspicion, and it makes him look crazy. Oh, right, he already _is._

"I don't," I mutter, looking down at the hem of my dress.

"Yes, _well,_ I'm not taking any chances of you trying to escape. So, you are coming with me. Of course," he continued, when I gave him a look, "The planet should be safe for you without any sort of spacesuit." He chuckles. "I'm not dragging you to a pointless death."

"This whole _thing_ is pointless," I grumble. His antennae twitch but he doesn't say a thing.


	5. A Tiny Screen

_Author's note: Hey, guys! Guess what! I'm not dead :) I am very much alive and kicking, and also updating this fanfic for once! I think I finally got my inspiration back. Hopefully. So expect more updates sometime... soon. Yeah. Sorry for the short chapter. Enjoy!_

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The planet looked yellowish-green from a distance. The ship shook like crazy as we entered the atmosphere, and then that's all I knew because like _hell_ I was going to open my eyes. But in my panic, I managed to convince myself that I might really be dead and Heaven was having an earthquake, so I opened one eye just a crack. The clouds were pale yellow, and the sea was lime-soda-green, and GIR was unhelpfully jumping on top of me as I tried to stop hyperventilating.

Not like Zim cared. He was just doing his crazy pilot thing, dodging through traffic as we descended towards the city. The ship shuddered to a stop by what looked vaguely like a giant overgrown futuristic 7-11.

"Follow me, and _don't_ say a word."

The hatch slid open. GIR squealed and scrambled over me, giving me one last kick in the stomach as he jumped out. I grit my teeth, my eyes burning.

"I'm staying here." Because _Can I stay here?_ implied I actually cared what he says, implied he could actually order me around.

"I had no idea you wanted to be captured and enslaved so badly, human." He gave me this look, contempt layered over worry. It absolutely couldn't be worry, of course.

"Well if you're so _worried_ why don't you leave your stupid robot here to guard me?"

"GIR?" He let out a short laugh. "Not likely. You're coming with me." He held out a hand. I didn't grab it. He just shrugged and turned away. "Follow close by. If anyone looks suspicious, tell me."

It was only a short walk from the parking lot (teetering on the edge of a cliff, practically, a cliff of buildings, of crumbling brick and stucco and spindly metal, rising from the yellowy fog below) to the store. The door opened with a cheery ding. Inside, it smelled like sticky sweetness and fried food. I stayed back a bit, letting my eyes wander over the different colored multi-language snack and drink and candy bar labels. Zim chatted a little in another language with the cashier—a big, bulky green guy, wearing an apron that looks ten sizes too small—and they both laughed, the stranger's low and growly, Zim's high and sharp and proud. He looked back to find me, and his smile was replaced by seriousness.

"We're refueling, and we're staying to buy food. Walk around, but don't leave the store. And don't let GIR touch _anything._ You hear that, GIR?"

The robot's eyes flashed red, and he saluted. "**Yes, Maste-** _ooh, _lookit that!" Zim winced and moved to stop him, but relaxed and rolled his eyes when he saw that GIR was only looking at some weird commercial on the small TV behind the counter. Then the cheesy jingle ended, and a fuchsia-skinned alien appeared onscreen. The image switched to some sort of really shaky video. A pink light flashed between black clouds, streaking down… an explosion… Cut to more raw footage: smoke billowing out of a building. Red claw-tipped cables shot out, dragging something forward out of the rubble. It was a familiar ship, round and red-violet. The video was replayed a few times as a reporter spoke.

"Gaz-human. Get over here. Now." Zim didn't even look away from the screen, or notice GIR climbing on top of his head. "That. That _is_ an Irken ship, but not one that has been around for _years!_ It's Tak's ship! Tak's ship! We've found that big-headed—" He switched over to another language, and I wasn't sure if he was cussing Dib out or just translating for the guy behind the counter. Not that I cared.

There. It was over so quickly. Zim would find my brother, do whatever it was he wanted to do—like I cared, like it mattered—and then I could go home.

Yeah. Sure. If only I knew.


End file.
